Subscription Services - Protect Your Money

NEVER give your checking account information to any subscription based company. This includes DirecTV, DISH, Verizon, Sprint and other cell phone companies.

Once you have given this information to any of these companies they will retain it forever. They will not remove it. They will withdraw money at any time they feel you owe them anything.

Also be aware if you ever help someone else by paying their bill using your checking account or credit card information they will retain that information as well. If they want money at some time in the future they will use your account again.

The only way to stop this type of money hemorrhaging is to close the checking account and change banks. Some banks, not all, will connect any future ACH transactions from the closed account to the new account.

Very good advice and I cringe whenever I read of people having problems because they gave some company permission to take money out of their bank account or using debit cards, where their money is gone immediately. It is, as you said also inadvisable because of the retention factor by these companies. Whenever buying on the internet, always use a credit card and when signing up for cell phone service, cable tv, etc. always have them send you a bill each month. That way you can look it over and then either send a cheque or pay online thru your bank's bill paying service which is usually free---this saves you a stamp.